In order to prevent a child from having an accident with a cigarette lighter (which term is intended to cover such a device which can be used to light anything) it is standard to provide a latch arrangement that makes it difficult for anyone who does not know not to use the lighter to get a flame out of it. Typically a neutralizing mechanism is employed which must be moved from a blocking to a freeing position in order to be able to operate the standard operating lever or element.
This type of lighter is known in particular from German utility model 8,802,582.9 and from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,786,248 and 4,799,877. In all these lighters a neutralizing means is not set up so as to be automatically returned to the actuatable neutralizing position after actuation of the igniting mechanism.
In commonly owned patent application Ser. No. 07/651,332 filed Feb. 7, 1991 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,895) by Marcel Floriot a lighter is described having on its housing, in which is provided a reservoir containing the gas in liquid form, a head comprising, in addition to the burner valve connected with the reservoir via a pressure reducer, an igniting mechanism comprising control means for opening the burner valve and means for making sparks. Associated with the igniting mechanism is means for neutralizing this mechanism displaceable between an active neutralizing position for the igniting mechanism and a retracted position, these neutralizing means being displaceable manually by the user from their active position to the retracted position. The neutralizing means of the igniting mechanism is normally maintained in the neutralizing position and is in addition set up so as to be automatically returned to the neutralizing position after actuation of the igniting mechanism. Other such lighters are described in WO-A-90/12,254 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 813,357 filed Dec. 24, 1991 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,886) and French patent application 2,295,359 filed Dec. 15, 1975.
The main disadvantage of these system is that they all add perceptibly to the manufacturing cost of the lighter. At least one additional element must be added to the lighter and frequently the overall construction must be made considerably more complex. The result is obviously an increase in manufacturing costs that cannot be borne readily in a mass-production throwaway item.